Dangerous Decisions
by DreamAsLongAsYouCan
Summary: Troy wasn't supposed to get close with anybody. Gabriella was just trying to enjoy High School. Spending time with her brother and helping at her dad's auto body shop was normal for her. Now, all she wanted was for Troy Bolton to notice her, not knowing that she was stepping onto dangerous ground in the process.
1. Pool

**I can't stop thinking about this, so here it is, I already wrote ahead, so down't worry about a lack of chapters. Hope you like it. **

**I don't own Disney.**

* * *

"Stop looking like that, you are too obvious!" Sharpay said, while lightly hitting me on the arm I was leaning on.

I rolled my eyes behind my sun glasses. "But you are aware of the fact that I'm wearing my sun glasses that are not see-through, right Shar?" I asked mockingly.

"Yeah, right. Like he can't see your head pointing in your direction. Believe me Gabs, Troy has an awesome eye-sight and sees practically anything. So it wouldn't surprise me if he'll come over here any time soon and asks you to look somewhere else, because your droll is distracting him."

Subconsciously, I put my palm on the corner of my mouth, just to see if there was something moist. "Damn it, Shar, stop joking about this. It's definitely not funny."

"You know what _is_ funny?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes once again. "No, what?"

"Our brothers are able to go over to him and ask him if they can join their little game, while we are sitting here dreaming about someone who doesn't even know we exist."

I gasped. "That's so not true and you know it. He knows who I am!" I exclaimed.

Sharpay scoffed. "Yeah, you are the big sister of Lucas. That's about it."

"Well, Lucas is more open when it comes to meeting people. I mean, he's 12 years old, that's normal. When he sees a ball, any kind of ball for that matter, he doesn't hesitate. He just grabs it, goes to the owner and asks them if he can play, too. It's ridiculous, it seems so simple, but it actually takes a lot of courage to do this, you know?"

Throughout my entire speech Sharpay was looking at me sideways. I was turning my head to her only to see a smirk covering her lip glossed lips. "You've got it bad. I never ever thought that you, sweet, naïve, intelligent, athletic Gabriella Montez would fall for sexy, good-looking, arrogant and of course athletic Troy Bolton!"

"Hey," I interrupted. "You've never talked to him before, you don't know if he's arrogant, so stop making assumptions." I just defended Troy Bolton. He so owes me.

"Who would have thought," she said to herself not to me. "You wanna know what I just realized?" She began after a while. I shook my head. "Our brothers could get us useful information. I mean, they are speaking with the target."

I laughed/scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Lucas would laugh in my face and say that I go ask him myself. Have you met my brother, Shar?"

"Whatever." She finally said and laid her head down again.

Why is this so damn complicated? Troy Bolton, the most popular guy in school has captured my eye for a long time now, but never once was I able to speak to him. Well, who am I kidding, it's not like I'm a social butterfly. I know where I belong. I am on the track team and that's probably the only team I'll ever join. Running is…freeing. And even though my practice clashes with his soccer practice never once did he notice me.

It's not like I am someone who gets noticed easily, but still it's very frustrating.

And of course it just had to happen that when Shar and I decide to go to the pool with our brothers, he just had to be there, too.

And to top all of that, he just had to play soccer with his friends, practically in front of our eyes. And our brothers just couldn't help themselves and immediately asked them if they could join.

It's not that I didn't want them to play. It was their decision after all, but I was, kind of, intimidated. Why? I had no idea.

Sharpay and I spread our blanket and I took off my halter top, before I lay myself down on it. Under my head I pushed one of the three balls Lucas and Justin brought with them, so I could overlook everything perfectly.

Sharpay did the same, it was very convenient.

That was the position we found ourselves in again. Just with the exception that we were talking about Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth. Chad was Troy's best friends and the Co-Captain of our schools soccer team and Sharpay had the hots for him.

"It should be forbidden to have such bodies and to show them off like that. It's unfair to all the girls."

I rolled my eyes again. Thank God she didn't see it because of my sun – glasses. "You have serious problems, Shar."

I concentrated on Lucas again. He had the ball and made some trick with it then he passed it to Justin. He also made a trick and that was basically what they were doing. They stood in a circle and watched what the other one was doing. Pretty lame if you ask me, but who would ask me?

Lucas ran after the ball and shot it back, Troy took the ball with his broad chest and let the ball fall to the ground again. Then shot the ball to Chad.

Even though this _was_ pretty lame, it was amazing to watch. And with that I don't mean the tricks. I mean the way his body moves. It's gracious, but still very manly. I can't explain it very well. The layer of sweat that was covering his upper body was just as sexy as his body itself. His hair was in disarray and every time his hand went through it, it would get messier.

His laughter was intoxicating and almost every time he threw his head back while doing so. Chad must be pretty hilarious.

"Let's go into the water, I'm hot as hell, Gabs."

I sat up, too and ran a hand through my curls. "You're right, let's go."

"You go tell Lucas and Justin." She said quickly and I looked at her with an open mouth.

"What?" I practically screamed.

"I'm not going over there."

"But…but that's not fair. I didn't even get the chance to say something."

"And who's fault is that?" she mocked and grinned at me.

I cursed her under my breath and started to walk toward them. I took a deep breath. I was looking down and suddenly a ball was rolling toward me. "Show us the trick you showed me yesterday at home, sis!" Lucas shouted. I blushed a crimson red and took a deep breath again. Alright Gabs, you've got this.

I dribbled the ball at first on my feet. Left, left, right, left. Then, as high as I could in the air, when it bounced on the ground again I did a somersault in the air and proceeded to shoot the ball to them again. My landing was okay, not stable, but alright. I turned around to look where the ball was. It was right in front of Troy's feet. I gulped and blushed again. I heard Justin and Lucas' laughter and as I looked toward them they high-fived each other. "Awesome, Gabs. You have to show me this." Justin exclaimed and high-fived me. I only laughed with him.

Lucas ran to me, too and we did our little secret handshake. "She needs to show _us_ her trick," Lucas emphasized and I, once again, rolled my eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that Shar and I are going in. Just to let you guys know, alright?"

"We'll come with you, we are sweating like pigs." Justin told me and I scrunched up my nose.

"Ew. Stop with the metaphors." They laughed again.

I walked back to Sharpay who had her mouth agape. I smirked and she closed her mouth again. "Show-off." She muttered.

I laughed it off and swung my arm around her shoulder giving her a nookie. "You know, you could do the same. Just because we don't practice gymnastics anymore doesn't mean you unlearnt it, Shar."

She smirked. She knew I was right. "Yeah, I know. I'm just frustrated with myself, because I let you go over to them. If I would have gone I could have shown Chad what I could do." She told me honestly.

I giggled. "You are nuts, Shar, seriously."

"Whatever," she shrugged. "You love me for it."

"True." I said and smirked at her.

We walked over to the showers, before we could get into the water. I turned it on and ran through it, three times. Sharpay did the same, because the shower was really, really cold.

After the cold shower we walked to the edge of the huge pool and walked slowly in it. I dived into it when I was waist – deep in it. I dived as long as I could then resurfaced. I laughed out loud when I saw Sharpay was still on the other end of the pool, pouting. She didn't want to make her hair wet. "Come on, Shar, get over yourself." I shouted, while giggling.

Even though the water covering her legs and waist I could practically see her stomping her foot, giving in to me. I smirked and leaned on the edge of the pool, floating, while waiting for Sharpay.

When she finally reached me, she had a frown on her face. "I swear Gabriella Montez, one day, I'll find something you don't wanna do and I'll make you do it, I promise you." She said out of breath and hold onto the edge just like me.

"Sorry, Shar, but swimming is tiring. Why would you come with me if you don't like to swim? Or don't want to get your hair wet for that matter." I responded and looked at her curiously.

She sighed. "One: my brother; two: you and your brother; three: Chad Danforth." She whispered his name and I giggled again. But then stopped abruptly.

I gasped. "Did you know that the two of them would come here?" I asked.

She looked down on her hands in the water and blushed slightly. "Maybe."

"What the…Sharpay!" I yelled, but unfortunately, got interrupted by my brother and Justin, followed by…Troy and Chad and their other guys. Dammit.

Justin and Lucas ran toward the edge of the pool and sprang into it, doing a canon ball. Sharpay squealed and I laughed, applauding while they were resurfacing. I looked around and suddenly made eye contact with Troy. My breath hitched and time seemed to come to a halt. His blue sapphire eyes sparkled in the sunlight and his golden hair was just right. He smirked slightly and nodded at me once, before diving into the pool himself. I coughed slightly and dipped my head under the water, afraid to come up again. What the hell was that? Did he nod at me? Was that beautiful smirk for me? Oh my fucking God. I think I am going to faint soon from dehydration and imagination.

I came up again and sought in air. I was kinda nervous. I mean, Troy was in the same water as me. Even though he was on the other end, it still sent shock waves through my body.

"Gaaaab," I heard Lucas scream my name and made a canon ball into the water. I immediately laughed and splashed water in his direction.

"Even though you aren't fat yet, you make one hell of a canon ball, bro."

Lucas face frowned instantly. "Why did you say yet?"

"What?" I asked him puzzled, not understanding what he meant.

"You just said that I'm not fat yet, is that supposed to mean that I am going to be fat one day?"

I giggled and nodded sheepishly. "Oh, come on, it's not like you are a couch potato and sit in front of the TV all day. I'm completely convinced that you're going to be fit. Fitter than some other guys, I promise you, Luke."

Luke took a breather. "Man, don't do that, sis, I was seriously in shock."

"Whatever, bro." I rolled my eyes and giggled.

"I hate every single one of you guys! Why do you always have to make my hair wet?" Sharpay exclaimed. Lucas, Justin and I started to laugh hysterically. I just shook my head at her and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Gab, throw me!" Lucas said and came swimming towards me.

"Nu hu," I hate it when he wants me to throw him. He is heavy! "You have to catch me first," I said and dived, knowing he is slower than me.

I resurfaced and swam on my back a little, so I could see where he was. Suddenly, I collided with a hard chest. Shit!

I turned around immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," I started and found myself drowning in two ocean blue orbs.

"Don't sweat it," he said and lowered his head, so his mouth was next to mine. "I wasn't like I minded you colliding with me," he said and winked at me. Lucas sneaked both his arms around my neck from behind, so I was giving him a piggy-back ride.

"Gotcha, Gabs. Now, throw me." He said. I was still in the process of registering what Troy just said to me, when he spoke up again.

"Hey Luke, I can throw ya, want me to try?" he asked my brother.

He nodded enthusiastically. Luke swam over towards him and waited for him to lift him up. Luke was flying through the air and resurfaced laughing hard. "That was.." he started and completely flipped out. "_awesome!" _he finished.

I just rolled my eyes. Boys, you know? I was looking for Sharpay, when I saw her getting closer to Chad. My eyes bulged for a second, but a huge smile made its way across my face quickly. Go, Shar!

Next thing I knew, Lucas splashed water into my face and brought me back from my daydream. "Guess what, Gab," he started, but didn't even give me time to answer. " invited Troy to our game tomorrow and he said he would come! Isn't that awesome?"

A nervous chuckle escaped my lips. "Yeah, absolutely, Luke, awesome," I trailed off.

Uh oh.

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** xoxo Michelle  
**


	2. Secrets

**Thanks guys for the great reviews and feedback. I really appreciate it.**

As always I don't own anything. 

**Enjoy. **

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"Go red!" I yelled, when Luke's team finally stole the ball from the opposing team. Lucas and Justin both made the East Middle school team in soccer. Shar and I were super proud and went to every single game that we could. Sometimes our track competitions clashed with their soccer games.

"Didn't you say Troy was gonna come today?" Sharpay asked me, sitting next to me on my purple blanket.

I shrugged and yelled, "Go Luke," before answering her. "I dunno, Luke asked him and he said yes. Maybe something came up, who cares," I said, really not thinking about Troy Bolton right now. I do like him, even though I never really talked to him, I was attracted. I didn't deny that, but when it came to my brother and his success, nothing was more important.

Sharpay gave a low whistle, "Gabriella Montez, did I just hear you say that you don't care? I'm shocked," she stated then laughed.

"You know why," I told her lowly and she immediately nodded.

"Don't worry, Gabs, I gotcha," she said and laid down onto her stomach, with her hands supporting her head.

I couldn't be another disappointment to Luke. He already lost his mom. He was not going to lose his sister, too. Our dad took good care of us, working hard in his auto body shop that he owned, where he always let me and Luke help. I liked it, it was our thing.

Our dad couldn't be here today, but he always tried to make it to Luke's games, even to my competitions.

Suddenly, Shar and I jumped up and applauded for Luke's and Justin's team, since they scored. "Go Tigers," Shar yelled and I 'wohhoo'd.

After the game, which the Tigers won with 2:0, Shar, Justin, Luke and I went to grab some smoothies as a celebratory treat.

Just as we made it to my car, Troy Bolton came to a halt in front of it and got off of his bike. He shook his head after he took off his helmet. Looking more yummy than ever. "Hey Troy," both Justin and Luke exclaimed and nodded their heads at him. What is it with guys and nodding?

"Hey guys, how did it go?" he asked and moved to stand in front of them.

Luke shrugged. "Good, we won, two to nothing, why didn't you make it?" he asked, disappointment in his eyes, which angered me.

"I'm sorry, bud, but I had to take care of something. I really wanted to see you play, but you know what? Why don't you come to my game tonight? I'm sure your sisters will take you," he said and looked to Sharpay who shrugged.

"Sure, why not," she stated. Both boys turned to her and begged her to come.

Troy looked to me and when he saw my not so happy face, he frowned. "What'd I do?" I walked away a few feet, so my brother and Justin wouldn't hear. "What the hell, Gabi?" he asked and went after me.

I whirled around, tears in my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. "Next time you promise my brother something, _anything_, you better keep it! He looks up to you, if you haven't noticed that. I don't want you to be another disappointment for him, got it?" I whispered slash yelled at him with fury in my eyes.

I was pissed.

He took a step back. "Whoa, hold up. I never meant to disappoint him, I just couldn't make it. I had shit to take care of," he defended himself weakly.

I scoffed. "Do you think I care? Next time, make sure your schedule is free of your random fucks," I hissed and saw the hurt in his eyes flash over, quickly overlapped with anger.

This time, he took a step closer, almost hovering over me. "You don't know _shit_, Gabriella," he said with venom and stormed to the other three. Giving Luke and Justin a fist bump and Sharpay a nod. Again the nodding..urgh.

He put on his helmet, sat on his bike, turned on the engine and sped off. Maybe I went a little bit too far? Looking at Luke I shook my head. I didn't go too far. I had to set him straight, or he would eventually hurt Lucas.

"Damn, G, what the hell was that?" Sharpay asked me when the boys were in my car.

I looked at her and sighed. "He needs to know that he can't mess with us," he told her and climbed into the driver's seat. Starting the engine.

It was going to be a long friggin' day.

* * *

Lucas came bouncing down the stairs in his Wildcats jersey, with no other number then 14 and "BOLTON" on his back. He was even wearing his cleats. He grinned like a toddler whenever they saw an airplane. "Gab, come on, you need to get ready," he said excitedly.

I was sitting at the kitchen, eating some cereal. "I am ready, dude," I told him; wearing my Wildcats track jacket and black pants. "We still have over an hour, Luke,"

He whined. "I know, but I wanna see their warm-ups, please, Gab," he asked and made puppy dog eyes.

I groaned and drank the rest of my milk from the bowl. "I hate when you do that," I said, putting my bowl into the dishwasher, "Let's go you impatient kid."

We stopped shortly at dad's auto body shop, said 'hi' and 'bye' and made our way towards East High.

"Yes, we are on our way, Just. Convince Shar to leave now. I wanna see their warm-ups, maybe they have some good ones that we can use too;" he said into my phone and chuckled lighty when he heard Sharpay complaining. Even I heard her. "Awesome, see you in 5," he said, pressed end and put my phone back into the middle console of my car.

Parking my car, we made our way towards the stadium that East High had. There were 3 sports that East High was really good at. Soccer, basketball and track. The others were good, just not as good. Therefore, we had a huge gym and a huge soccer field with the track field surrounding it. Lucas was bouncing up and down and was even more excited when we got a place in the front row.

The Nord High Bulldogs were already warming up, East High was nowhere to be seen, except for our goalie. "Thanks, Gabs, for bringing me," Luke said and looked up at me with beaming eyes.

I smiled and nudged his face gently with my fist. "You are more than welcome, if I had known that you wanted to see their games so badly, I would have taken you sooner, you know I like hanging out with you," I shared and he just shrugged.

"I didn't want to then, but I know Troy now and he seems cool," he said.

"Okay," I started. "Whenever you wanna tag along, just tell me from now on, okay, Luke?" I told him.

He nodded, stood up and gave me a hug. "Thanks, Gabsi," he whispered in my ear. I hate that name. He is the only one allowed to call me that and he knows it.

Someone cleared their throat, interrupting our sibling moment. I freed my face from Luke's neck and looked straight into Troy Bolton's eyes. "Hey," he said awkwardly and scratched his neck uncomfortably. "I wanted to ask Luke if he'd like to warm up with us," he said, but was looking more at me than at Luke.

Luke didn't even look at me again, instead jumped over the railing and next to Troy. He waved shortly at me and sprinted off onto the field. "I'll get him back to you before the game starts," Troy told me with a soft expression.

I nodded. "Thanks," not looking at him directly.

He nodded and took off towards the field. "Hey Luke, wait for me," I heard Justin's voice ring through the stadium and laughed as he hopped onto one leg to put on his other cleat. Sharpay came to sit next to me.

"You know, slowly I have the feeling that Luke wants to hang around Bolton more than you," she stated seriously.

I snorted. "So what, Shar? He can hang around Troy as long as he wants," I pause, looking over to my brother who was currently passing with Chad, Troy and Justin. "He looks up to him,"

"I know that, G. Same thing with Justin and Chad, but Chad still knows that I wanna nail him and my brother just wants to hang with him," she admitted.

I turned my head to her. "Do you even know what you're saying right now? If I wouldn't know you any better, I would say your high," I told her honestly and noticed that the stadium was slowly filling up.

"Just saying that maybe you should show him what you want," Shar told me and greeted some of our other friends, who came over, leaving me to think about every single thing I ever said to Troy Bolton.

* * *

"Did you _see_ that goal, Gab?" Luke exclaimed for the 17th time that night.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Luke, I did," I told him annoyingly.

"Troy is the best,"

"I hope I am gonna play like him when I am 17,"

"Maybe the two of us can be captains, just like Troy and Chad,"

"That would be the most amazing thing, bro,"

Sharpay held a hand up, "Alright, guys, let's roll. I'll see you later, G," Sharpay said and threw an arm around each of the boys, so she was in the middle. Lucas was going to sleep over at Justin's tonight.

I was standing in a circle with my teammates from track, not really listening to them, when I felt my phone vibrating.

"Hey dad, what's up?" I said into the speaker.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you if you could come to the shop in 20 minutes? I have a really important client that wants me to do an oil change asap, but I have another car that needs to be ready in an hour," he explained himself.

I smiled to myself. "Sure thing, dad. I'm heading to my car right now,"

I could practically see him smile in relief. "Thank you Gab," he said and we hung up.

I said goodbye to the girls and began making my way to my car. Only to find that some idiot was blocking my way. I couldn't back out of my parking spot. Unbelievable.

I knew my dad would kill me if I'd walk to the shop in the dark, so the only option that was left, was to sit on my hood and wait for the jackass.

Half an hour later, I was getting impatient. I hopped off my hood and started to kick against the jackass' car. I didn't care whatsoever. I was pissed off and late. I hated it when I was late.

"Gabi?" I heard a voice from behind me, but I ignored it and kept on kicking. "What the fuck?" he said when he stood next to me. "What is your problem?"

I looked up at him. Curious blue eyes that I could drown in every single time. "This jackass is blocking me!" I exclaimed, gesturing with my hand my problem.

He chuckled slightly. "Are you in a hurry?" he asked.

I blew my hair out of my face. "Yes, I am actually and now, I am late, which pisses me off even more," I told him. He was _amused_ by this.

I won't be anymore if I start kicking him.

"I'll give you a ride," he said, nodding to his bike that was standing behind him.

I looked at it. "No thanks," and wanted to resume my kicking when he all of a sudden was right in front of me.

"Don't be so stubborn, just let me give you a ride, Gabi," he said. Nobody calls me Gabi. I have a love/hate relationship with that name.

"Fine, but only because I am late," I told him honestly, stepped around him and went towards his bike. He gave me his helmet. I settled behind him and put my hands onto his stomach, feeling his muscles.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

I could already feel myself melting. "Where to?" he asked and I told him to my dad's auto body shop. He knew exactly where that was. Everybody does.

10 minutes later, we arrived and I was more than happy to loosen my grip on him. "Thank, Troy," I told him shyly, clearly he had an effect on me.

"Welcome. What do you have to do?" he asked me, concern in his eyes.

I shrugged and looked towards the shop, where I could already see the car. "Oil change," I told him, nodding towards the car.

He looked at it. "I'll wait for you and bring you back to your car," he said and I immediately shook my head.

"Nah, you're good. Go home and relax, Troy. Good game by the way," I told him honestly and he nodded in appreciation.

He stepped off his bike and leaned on it casually. "I'll wait, you do what you have to,"

I rolled my eyes and started to make my way towards the shop. "And you say I am stubborn," saying it loud enough for him to hear, which caused him to laugh.

"Whatever," was all I heard as a comeback.

"Soo," my dad started when I grabbed my keys from the office to head out, "who's the guy?" he asked, trying to be casual.

I chuckled. "Just some guy, don't worry, daddy," I told him, kissing him on the cheek, promising to be home as soon as possible. I already told him about the idiot in the parking lot.

I walked towards Troy, who hasn't left his position the entire time. "Here I thought you would ditch me for the after party," I told him, when he looked at me surprised I quickly added, "not that I would have minded or anything,"

He chuckled. "Wanna go?" he asked me.

I narrowed my eyes a little, confused. "Where?" I asked slowly.

"To the after party," he said, amused again. "Sharpay is there too, Chad just texted me," he said and looked at me with a hopeful look.

"Sharpay is there? What the hell?" I told him and quickly looked towards my dad who cleared his throat loudly. "Sorry," I say a little louder.

Troy just chuckled. "So?"

"I don't really know, I should-," he interrupted me.

"10 minutes?"

I rolled my eyes. I leaned my head to the side for a short moment, debating the whole thing. I sighed. "Let's go," he handed me his helmed and stepped onto his bike. I followed suit and put my hands onto his stomach, his muscles tensing under my touch. I cleared my throat, feeling slightly dizzy.

Who would have thought that riding on a motorcycle with Troy Bolton could be so hot?

5 minutes later we were close to the park, where almost all of the after parties where held, well, at least when it was still warm. The cool thing was, Troy could drive through the park with his bike, so we didn't have to walk at all. I always found it creepy to walk in the dark, especially in a park.

I already heard music pumping from the speakers. Voices yelling over the music and one sparkling blonde running towards me. "G!" she exclaimed and threw her arms over me. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Me? You are supposed to watch Justin and Luke," I told her and she just shrugged, almost spilling her drink.

"They're fine, they're old enough, G," she shoved her cup in my face. "Loosen up,"

I rolled my eyes and smirked at her, taking the cup and emptying it in the process. "I hate you sometimes," I yell at her in the process.

"You love me and you know it," she said. "But the more important part is, why are you here with Troy?" she asked and wiggled her eyebrows effectively.

I just stuck my tongue out and made my way around her, successfully dodging the question, only to land into a chest with my face. I looked up, my hands steadying my body on the owner's chest and I grin sheepishly. "Hi there,"

I blushed. "Hi." I said and smiled up at him.

Troy looked around us and narrowed his eyes for a second. "So I have something that I need to take care of," he started.

I scoffed. "Right, your shit." I said and eyed him.

He chuckled slightly, his eyes narrowing never the less. "You got it."

"Wanna tell me about that shit?" I asked.

He shifted his feet and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly, so I could smell his minty breath. "Not really, no," he admitted.

I shook my head and shrugged. "Whatever." Trying to sound like I didn't care. "Let's go then,"

He nodded shortly and we slowly walked back to his bike. He came to a sudden halt, which made me crash into his back. "Ow," I said, holding my head.

"You need to be at the usual spot in 20 minutes," a british accented guy spoke up, standing right in front of Troy's bike.

Troy pushed me behind his back. I couldn't tell if he wanted to shield me or if he was trying for me not to see anything.

"I know that Damian, but why?" was the only thing he said back.

"You know damn well why," and with that, he sprinted into the darkness.

Troy cursed under his breath, took my hand in his and pulled his helmet onto my head. I looked into his eyes, that were guarded now. No emotion was detectable. "Wh-," I started.

"I need you to be quiet and just hold on tight now, okay?" he asked me almost desperately. His voice strained.

I just nodded and wrapped my arms around his torso when I climbed onto his bike. We were back at the East High parking lot almost instantly. I got off the bike, fished my car key out of my front pocket. "Thanks for the rides tonight. "

He nodded, putting his helmet onto his head. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

I was curious now. "Go straight home, no detours. Can you do that for me?" His voice insistent.

I swallowed and nodded dumbly. "Is everything okay, Troy?" I asked, almost scared. My voice only a whisper.

He leaned toward me a little bit. "Please, Gabi." I nodded. "See you Monday," and with that he took off, not caring about the speed limit.

What the hell is Troy Bolton's secret?

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**Tell me what you think. :)  
**

**xoxo Michelle  
**


	3. Revelation

**Hey guys, this came out a little late. Had loads of stuff to do. I promise to keep updating. :) **

* * *

By Wednesday Troy still hadn't shown to school. I didn't really know what to think of Saturday night. I had always thought Troy was easily catching colds or was sick more or less, but I would have never guessed that it might had something to do with this guy.

This guy.

British accent. That's all I had gotten that night. Troy was really persistent in not showing him to me or me to him. I was still trying to figure that one out.

I hadn't told Sharpay. I knew she would have flipped out completely. She would have asked me questions that I didn't even had answers to. I knew one thing only.

I felt protected by Troy Bolton.

I just didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. I've never really given much thought about the things that Troy would do in his free time. I always knew that he was popular, but he didn't really care about that. He never showed it off in the hallways or at the pep rallies. Never had he so much as used his power to get something he wanted. He was just..there. Sexy him.

I liked him. I knew that much, I just didn't know what exactly I liked.

Friday after school, before the soccer game, East High had a pep rally and if Troy didn't show by then, he wouldn't play in the game, which wasn't necessarily a good thing for him or East High, since we would be playing West High.

West High was our rival school, but only in everything that involved winning. Which was basically every single thing. We respected each other as students, but the second there was something to win, we didn't know each other anymore.

Which could be good at times. It was just really annoying.

"Okay, you really need to tell me what is bothering you or I might just go crazy. You haven't said one word since lunch. Gab, I love you and respect you, but if you won't tell me I am going crazy bitch on you, like, now," Sharpay's voice filled my ears and I was brought from my day dream.

Oops.

"I'm sorry."

Sharpay threw her arms up in frustration. "What for?" she practically yelled.

I shrugged. My right hand supporting my head. I was picking through my food. Not looking forward to Chemistry, my next class. "I need to get to Chem, I'll see you later," and with that I put my left over lunch in the trash and walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

"You wanna know what I think?"

I rolled my eyes, a slight smile on my face. "Enlighten me."

I was laying on my belly on my queen sized bed. My feet were dangling in the air, my cell pressed to my right ear. It was Thursday night and I had finally come around telling Sharpay about Troy's weird behavior Saturday night.

"He's a bad ass gang member, or maybe even the leader and needed to take care of something," she said and I started to laugh, though I knew she could be on to something.

It was no secret that Albuquerque had gang history. Nobody ever talked about it.

"You watch too many movies, Shar," I told her, flipping onto my back, looking up at my ceiling. "If he's not at school tomorrow, coach won't let him play the game," I told her, but of course, she already knew that.

"Hmm," she started. "I have an idea, G,"

"This can't be good," I said. "Every single time you have an idea, I get into trouble."

"This idea will get you into major hot trouble," she said seductively and I burst out laughing.

"Spill."

"Since you are tutoring after school, you have access to the files, find out where he lives, visit him, confront him and there, you have all your answers."

Hmm, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. "The school isn't opened anymore, though,"

Sharpay laughed. "You can always go to the security guy, show him your student ID and tell him you forgot something in your locker."

"Damn," I sweared. "Shar, I like this idea, but I am not breaking into the school," I told her honestly.

I wouldn't.

"Well then, give me your key to the tutor room and I'll do it for you, you little chicken," she said and I could practically see her grin.

I drew out a long breath, contemplating. "I dunno, Shar," biting my lip. "This could go to your file if they'll find you." I warned her.

She just scoffed. "So? I'm already too excited to back out now,"

I shook my head, knowing this was a done deal for her. "Meet me in the parking lot in 20 minutes."

And with that, I darted out of my room, down the stairs, grabbing my thin brown leather jacket, key and car keys. With that, I ran out of the house and to my car.

Exactly 34 minutes had passed, since Sharpay and I had met up at the parking lot and she was still in school. I was starting to worry. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Ryan from O.C. California got busted, too when he looked at psycho Oliver's file. I couldn't help but chew on my nails.

Dammit Shar, hurry up!

I heard a door slam and one second later, Sharpay walked up to me, a smug smile on her. "I told you it would work," he sing-songed and handed me a piece of paper. I glanced at it and saw an address on it.

Troy's address.

I hugged her saying thank you and climbed back into my car, hitting the letters and digits into my GPS.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second, before I started the engine.

I was about to find out what the hell was going on with Troy Bolton, the seemingly normal guy. One thing was bothering me, though.

I didn't know if I really wanted to know.

It wasn't creepy, as I had first suspected it would be. It wasn't even a house he was living in. It was an apartment building that I had never heard of in my entire life. And I have been living in Albuquerque all my life.

Weird. And maybe creepy after all.

I walked into the building and it was quite fancy. There was even an elevator. Maybe it was the wrong address after all.

I looked onto the piece of paper again and found one number: 401. Which meant, 4th floor. What a joy. I hated elevators. I didn't like the way they made my tummy feel. I always felt like I was getting sick. Stepping out of the elevator, I walked was greeted by a circular hallways with 3 doors, one that led to the stairs, and the other's where apartment doors. I knocked onto the door with the number 401 on it and prepared myself for the worst.

I didn't hear anything at all. Not even feet that were slowly making their way towards the door.

Feeling disappointment in my gut, I let my head drop and slowly walked towards the elevator again. Hearing the somewhat familiar ding, I knew that the elevator was on the floor again.

"Gabriella?" I heard. I looked up and met Troy's sparkling gaze. Confusion was written on his face, his eyes said something different though.

"Hi," I said timidly, giving him a small wave with my hand.

He walked closer, closing the distance between us. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

I took a step back. He was pissed. I cocked my head to the side. "I," man this wasn't such a good idea after all. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Hearing it from my own mouth, I sounded ridiculous, even to me. This hadn't been such a good idea, _at all_.

Troy swore under his breath and ran a hand through his messed up hair. "Gabriella, you shouldn't be here," he said, grabbed my lower arm and pulled me towards his door.

If I shouldn't be here, why is he pulling me in his apartment?

Definitely not a good idea to come.

"I'm sorry, I'm stupid for believing you wanted me to-," he interrupted me.

"No, it's not that, at all," he said, opening his door and pulling me with him, closing the door behind us and locking it in the process. "It's not safe for you to come here, especially at night." He explained.

And that was when I first saw the cut that he got on his lower lip. "What happened to you?" I said, stepping forward, reaching up towards his chin, gently touching it. I completely ignored his prior statement.

"Nothing." Was all he said, stepping away from me and my grasp.

"Is that from the other night? Is that why you weren't in school the whole week? Troy, are you in trouble? I'm sure-," he interrupted me again. _Gah!_

"You don't need to know what happened, okay? I-" this time, I interrupted him.

I threw my hands up in the air. "Do you think I'm stupid, Troy? You left the parking lot on Saturday in a rush, because some British accented guy told you to be _somewhere_. You told me to go straight home, no detours. Monday you're not in school, and newsflash Troy, tomorrow is Friday, which makes me think that your injuries were way worse than just this damn cut on your lip!" I exclaimed. I was furios.

Troy's eyes narrowed as he took the final steps that separated us. "You don't _need_ to know, Gabriella," he said lowly, dangerously.

I growled in frustration. "But I _want _to know, Troy."

His blue eyes darkened. "Why?"

I swallowed. "Because I care, dammit." I screamed, which made him take a step back in shock. I've never seen anybody so shocked in my life. "Don't act so surprised, Bolton, you knew that I liked you," I said lowly, humiliated.

He scoffed. "Of course I knew that. But you obviously didn't get the hint that I wanted nothing to do with you,"

Okay, that one hurt. "Why did you offer me a ride then? Several even!" I fired back at him. Fury, frustration and hurt were mixing up to just downright being pissed at him.

He wanted to say something, he needed to say something, but he couldn't. "I- you need to go home, Gabriella. I'm not in your league,"

I scoffed. "You jackass." I cannot believe this. Believe him. "How can you think that you are better than me? I was wrong about you, Troy Bolton. You really are a conceited bastard."

And with that, I left his apartment, slammed his door shut. Not even glancing at the elevator, I took the stairs down, ran out of the building and into my car.

It was there and then when I finally let the tears consume me.

* * *

"If I didn't know myself that you were going to East High, I would think you are rooting for West." Lucas told me, when we were sitting on the bleachers in the East High stadium.

I rolled my eyes. "Just because I am wearing a blue jacket doesn't mean I am rooting for West High, Luke."

The little man next to me shrugged and scooted closer to the railing, so he could see more. "Whatever you say, Gabsi."

It was then, that the East High Wildcats came running out of their locker rooms and ran onto the field. This time, though, Troy didn't so much as glance in our direction. Sharpay and Justin joint us 5 minutes later. It was then, that Chad came running towards us. "What are you guys waiting for? An invitation?"

Justin and Lucas turned to each other, immediately huge grins were plastered on their faces. They jumped over the railing, Chad making sure they landed safely on the ground and ran with them onto the field, starting their warm ups.

"This is becoming a ritual, don't you think?" Sharpay's voice filled my ears.

I turned to her and shrugged. "I dunno and I don't care, Shar,"

Sharpay rolled her eyes and nudged my shoulder. "Please, Gab. You may convince Luke of not caring, but you can't fool me and you know it. Look, I know it hurts, but you at least know now that he didn't deserve you," Sharpay tried to lighten my mood.

"Shar, would it be okay for you to bring Luke home? I really need to get outta here," I told her and stood up, looking one last time towards the field.

"Sure thing."

Making my way to the parking lot, I was in deep thought, not knowing what to think anymore.

Maybe he felt caught off guard when I visited him. Maybe he didn't mean any of it, but is just too chicken to walk up to me and apologize. I shook my head.

If this would be a movie, he would be here by now, apologizing.

I didn't see him running after me.

That being said, I was convinced I heard noises though. Rounding the corner, I saw three hooded guys doing something with a blue car. _My_ car.

I immediately saw red.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, you jackasses?" I just about yelled out.

The second my voice filled the air, their heads whipped towards me and their eyes narrowed in on me. It was actually quite a funny scene, if it wouldn't have been me standing there, alone.

Uh oh.

"Did you just insult us?" one guy said, he was wearing a leather jacket, much like Troy's. Coming to think of it, all three of them were wearing one.

And each of them had something yellow bound to their left ankles.

"Get the hell away from my car!" Okay, deep breaths Gabriella, you need to focus on the task here.

Three guys, who are all way taller than you and much stronger. My chances weren't high.

But I did have one advantage.

I was pissed.

"I don't think you quite understand what you are getting yourself into, love."

I narrowed my eyes. I've heard that voice before. My eyes bulged at the sudden realization that dawned upon me.

This dude is the same as in the park.

_Shit._

"And I don't think you know who you are dealing with right now." A voice came from behind me that left me spinning around.

Troy Bolton was coming towards us, sweaty and in his East High uniform.

Looking back towards the three guys, I saw how all of them took a step back. I would have done the same if I wouldn't be standing behind him now and if I wouldn't find his growling so damn appealing.

"Dude, T, what the fuck? We just wanted to check out this ride, have you _seen_ it?"

I narrowed my eyes again and crossed my arms. Unbelievable. "So you decide to molest my car? Are you dumber than you look? If I-," I stopped talking because Troy was sending me a glare that wasn't funny at all.

"I told you multiple times to not come around here, it's too obvious and suspicious," he told them with an authority in his voice that I've never even heard from my own father.

"You are not the boss of us if we wanted we could easily take you, T,"

Troy scoffed. "Well, if you're so sure, why aren't you?"

"You damn well know why the fuck we aren't allowed touch you, T."

Troy shrugged. "Doesn't mean you can't."

He was provoking them. Hopefully this will not backfire. I really wouldn't wanna call my dad from a hospital, or even worse, a prison. "Troy, stop, I think they got the message," I whispered to him, sliding my hand towards his fist, he unclenched it immediately and laced his fingers with mine and gave them a gentle squeeze.

One of the guys started laughing hysterically. "So _that _is what this is all about," he started, whispering something to his friends when he paused. "You like her. It's her car. How could we be so stupid, you wouldn't have given a fuck if we would have gone after any other car, but you didn't like it one bit when we were going after hers," he grinned smugly.

I didn't know if my butterflies in my stomach were appropriate right now.

But I couldn't help it.

"You know it's forbidden, T," the one guy, who hadn't said anything the whole time, finally spoke up. "You're in deep shit, man, her too and you damn well know it,"

"You have nothing on me, you don't know anything." Troy tried to get himself and me out of the situation. He pushed my behind his back, so I was resting my forehead and other hand on his back.

I heard shuffling of feet and three motorcycle engines go off. The next thing I knew, Troy was turning around towards me.

Our hands still intertwined.

"Please don't be mad at me, I didn't know what to do, but nobody, _nobody_ messes with my car, you have to understand that-,"

"Do you see now why we can't happen, Gabriella?" he asked, his voice painfully low.

I swallowed. I shook my head. "Can you be honest with me for one question, Troy?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled, nodding. "Just one,"

"Do you like me?"

He closed his eyes, his forehead coming to rest on mine. "I can't get enough of you. I'm sorry if I ever made you doubt that." He said, pausing. "But we can't be dating or even be together, it would be too fucking dangerous for you, I am not someone you want to be with. I am not a good influence on you or even Luke. I don't even know why the little guy likes me so much, you need to convince him to hate me or even," I put a finger on his mouth, silencing him.

"That's all I wanted to know." I told him and smiled brightly at him. "Do you wanna know a secret Troy?" I asked him and took a step closer towards him.

"Sure,"

"I kinda have a thing for dangerous guys."

And with that, I walked towards my car, got in and left him there standing in all his glory.

I passed him the ball, now all he needed to do was to shoot the goal.

* * *

**Hope you like it :))**

**xoxo michelle**


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